The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,691 new cases of coronavirus across the state Thursday with 12 additional deaths. The latest Lawrence County Health Department statistics show that cases are rising in Lawrence County with 16 positive cases and 38 active. There are 2 hospitalizations. A total of 1,417,263 cases have occurred across Illinois with 23,432 deaths since the pandemic began and there have been 13,187,171 vaccines administered at sites across the state since the vaccine rollout began. With COVID-19 cases increasing locally, Lawrence County health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help prevent the spread, especially of the Delta variant. Lawrence County has about 31% of it’s total population vaccinated. Vaccinations are available at the LCHD, Lawrence County Memorial Hospital and other locations including Walmart. According to the CDC, more than 73% of Illinois adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine and over 58% are fully vaccinated.